Saturday, April 19, 2014

my genre

For fiction I think I have found my "genre." Literally: my genre. I envision it to be a sort of hybrid between Dashiell Hammett and
H. P. Lovecraft. Perhaps this conception has come to me insofar as (1) I do not want to write pure "detective" stories; and (2) I do not want to write pure "supernatural horror" thrillers. What I want to do is create a protagonist with a kind of Indy Jones persona, but with emphasis on the latter's scholarly side; i.e., there won't be exotic "adventures", but there will be an antiquarian element, and, as per Sam Spade, "a reasonable amount of trouble." As I've more or less indicated before, I think the best thing to write will be of people doing precisely the sort of things I would do if I could please myself. So I might write of professors of architectural history; private detectives of a century ago; men who live a gentleman's life of leisure; marshals of old Northwestern mining towns; saloon proprietors; thieves, grifters and gangsters; et cetera ad infinitum. And, of course, at some point, Elves. In any case what I really like is the idea of a very street smart, old Pinkerton type coming up against mysterious artifacts which harbor ancient secrets and unleash preternatural menace. What, for example, would happen if Jack Bauer came into possession of the Philosophers' Stone?

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About Me

An obscurantist who takes pleasure in holding the unpopular view, dynamiter of the Train of Progress, and vehement defender of Dead White Men.
Also a guitarist: listen to demos at ReverbNation.com/JohnnieOrson